


Reticence

by Scripturience



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Arguing, Fluff(?), Humanstuck, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 13:10:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1471027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scripturience/pseuds/Scripturience
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cronus couldn't stand arguments. He considered himself more of a lover than a fighter. Kankri, on the other hand, was another story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reticence

Cronus Ampora stared at the apartment door in front of him. He’d put off returning home for as long as he possibly could without arousing suspicion, and yet he was still dreading stepping inside his own domicile. 

With a heavy sigh, eventually he decided he’d had enough of admiring the craftsmanship of the entryway. His hand felt heavy as he moved it to rest on the cold brass doorknob. Then, with a simple twist, it was open.

The door was unlocked. Of course it was. Kankri was home.

Cronus kicked off his shoes and shut the door behind him, announcing his arrival with quick “Home.”

But there was no response. Not that he expected one anyway.

Kankri Vantas was far too busy to answer him. He was rushing about the apartment, arms filled with all matters of academic materials. Poster boards and notebooks covered every available surface, coupled with mountainous piles of textbooks from all subjects. Their shared dwelling had been like this for nearly two weeks now.

Kankri’s GREs were approaching. Well, if you considered just under half a year away “approaching.” God knows he did.

The impending tests had him a mess. Nearly every hour of his down time was spent hitting the books. In addition to his normal senior course load, Kankri was also studying overtime for an exam that by normal human standards was still a comfortable distance away.

Cronus stepped further into the apartment, muttering a “Still not talkin’ ta me?” as he walked past his boyfriend, a textbook obscuring his face.

“I didn’t notice you come in.” Kankri coldly replied from behind the pages.

“…Right,” Well, that was better than nothing. “I’ll be workin’ on…whatever,” Cronus grumbled before slinking off to the bedroom.

They had been like this for a few days, and frankly, Cronus couldn’t stand it anymore. Sure they had arguments from time to time, but things were rarely this serious. Kankri would barely utter a word to him, and for the last two nights Cronus was fairly certain he only pretended to pass out on the couch. Normally it was hard for anyone to get the Cancer _not_ to talk, which made the cold shoulder Cronus was receiving all the more unsettling.

He really just needed to learn to keep his big mouth shut.

* * *

_It had been shortly after Kankri’s initial panic set in. The apartment was already looking like a cluttered mess. Normally, Cronus couldn’t care less. Maybe it was the fact that Kankri **didn’t** care for once, that bothered him._

_He did his best to be patient. For the first week, he put up with being ignored in favor of notebooks. He put up with Kankri’s nervous rambling, and he put up with not being able to find a damn thing in his own house._

_Eventually, there was only so much Cronus could take._

_“Hey, babe,” Cronus called to his boyfriend from the couch._

_“Busy,” Kankri responded flatly, as he ran a highlighter through his notes._

_“Why don’t you take a break from all that crap for a minute?” He asked, patting the empty seat on the couch next to him._

_“Cronus,” Kankri sighed, momentarily looking up from his work “You know I can’t do that.”_

_“And why not?” The Aquarius pushed._

_“We’ve been over this,” he huffed dismissively, returning to his studying._

_Narrowing his eyes, Cronus rose to his feet. Walking over to the desk his boyfriend was working at, he quickly swiped the notebook away from._

_“Cronus!” Kankri snapped “What do you think you’re doing?”_

_“You need a break,” he replied “You’ve been doin’ this shit non-stop for days.”_

_“Give it back this instant!” Kankri demanded._

_“Nope.”_

_Kankri groaned, getting out of his chair. Cronus immediately raised the book above his head, taking advantage of his superior height._

_“Are you serious?!” Kankri said incredulously._

_“Chief,” Cronus began “You gotta rest.”_

_“How many times do I have to tell you?!” Kankri all but yelled at him “I **can’t** rest. I **can’t** take a break. And I **can’t** stop. Not even for a minute. I need to study!”_

_“Christ, Kanny,” Cronus sighed “What are you so goddamn worried about?”_

_“What am I worried about?!” he repeated in disbelief “Cronus, this is one of the most important moments in my **life.** I cannot get into grad school without this test, if I don’t get into grad school, I won’t have a PHD. If I don’t have my PHD, how am I supposed to get anywhere?! How will I get a career?!”_

_“Oh for cryin’ out loud,” Cronus groaned in response “So what if you fail?! We got more than enough money. I can take care a ya, babe. So just calm the fuck down and take one lousy break! It won’t kill you.”_

_Kankri’s eyes widened, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “I…” He began, brows furrowing “Cannot **believe** you.”_

_And that was all he said. No drawn out lecture, no scolding, no nothing. With that, Kankri Vantas marched out the door and headed to Porrim’s place. After his return the following morning, several days of bitter silence ensued._

* * *

 Cronus climbed onto the mattress, moving to sit cross legged at the front of the bed. Leaning over, he reached for his notebook on the nightstand. He couldn’t play guitar, not while Kankri was studying. It would distract him, even if he was too angry to tell Cronus so. Instead, he opted to look over his notes. Cronus doubted he’d be able to write anything new at the moment, so looking over his old music was the next best thing. His eyes scanned over the sheets, reading, but not really paying attention.

Cronus’s head perked up at the sound of a knock at the bedroom door. It was barely audible, and probably would have gone unnoticed if not for the complete silence in the apartment.

Cronus muttered a cautious “come in.”

The door was pushed open. Near soundlessly, two feet slowly padded their way across the carpet and over the end of the bed. The mattress creaked as another familiar weight climbed onto it.

Kankri laid back, resting his head in Cronus’s lap, with his arms crossed over his chest. By then, the notebook had been returned to its spot on the nightstand.

Both of them stayed there, near motionless apart from their breathing, saying nothing. Kankri looked up at the ceiling above him, and Cronus let his eyes wander idly around the room; both of them looking at anything but each other.

“I’m sorry…” Kankri finally spoke, shifting to look directly up at Cronus. The sudden eye contact nearly made the Aquarius waver.

“Nah…” He responded hesitantly “I should be the one apologizin’”

Kankri broke eye contact, moving once again to look back up at the ceiling.

 “We were poor almost our entire lives,” he spoke again. “My family, I mean...”

Cronus didn’t respond. He already knew that Kankri wasn’t well off, contrary to his own financial situation. The Amporas were beyond wealthy, him being no exception.

“People looked down on us,” Kankri continued “I always hated it. I didn’t want to be coddled like that."

“Then, after my mother….” He trailed off, pausing briefly. “After she passed away, it got worse. More and more people just pitied us.”

Cronus moved a hand down to Kankri’s hair, carding his fingers through the black locks.

“I got so tired of it…” He said almost bitterly. “I still can’t stand it.”

Cronus inwardly flinched at the statement.

“I just want to prove to that we….I, can make it. I want my father and brother,” he paused again, taking a deep breath “I want them to be proud of me. I want to be able to able to help them.”

“But,” Kankri went on, “I’m afraid. I don’t want to fail. I don’t want to disappoint my father. I don’t want things to be as hard for Karkat as they were for me.”

“Kanny….” Cronus reached over to grab one of his lover’s hands, their fingers intertwining.

“I’m sorry,” Kankri apologized again, shifting to look up at Cronus. “I should have said something sooner. But I overreacted.”

“No,” Cronus said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t a said any of that. I shoulda known better, chief.”

The Cancer hummed non-committedly in response, rubbing his thumb over the back of Cronus’s knuckles.

“Don’t worry about it too much.” Kankri murmured, letting his eyes drift closed.

**Author's Note:**

> Endings? You mean people still do those?!


End file.
